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The Pro Carton Student Video Award celebrates the filmmaking and storytelling talents of students across Europe
The winners of the Pro Carton Student Video Award 2023 were announced at the annual awards gala in Seville, Spain last night (21 September). The award underscores the significance of encouraging and nurturing young talent in filmmaking, and advocates environmentally conscious choices. Students were tasked to create a short film highlighting the benefits of carton and cartonboard, in an inventive, visionary way.
After receiving 33 entries from 17 countries and more than 20 universities, the esteemed judging panel – consisting of award-winning film producer Bady Minck; former CEO and chairman of several advertising agencies Simon Bolton; and Pro Carton’s Head of Marketing and Communications, Winfried Muehling – reviewed and judged all entries. The rigorous criteria included judging videos on visual quality, choice of music, themes shown, and communicating the environmental benefits of cartons.
Alongside the jury awards, more than 1,100 votes were received to decide the Public Award winner from eight shortlisted entries.
Winning Excellence
This year’s winner of the Pro Carton Student Video Award 2023 was ‘The PROs of Carton’, filmed and edited by Jasmin Hein and Sofia Rohnefeld from Höhere Graphische Bundes- Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt in Austria.
This expertly created video provides a contemporary and creative way of showing the favourable attributes of cartonboard. The students show how they conceived and designed 3D cartonboard letters to spell out ‘PRO’, and visually demonstrates the numerous applications of cartonboard in everyday life. They highlighted cartonboard’s impressive recyclability potential and environmentally friendly nature.
Judge Bady Minck commented: “This is a really potent piece of work. The brilliant editing, composition, and content of the video is outstanding. A truly dynamic entry to the awards which deserves to take home first place.”
Fellow judge Simon Bolton added: “This film is a marvellous piece of work. I love the energy, meaning and editing of the video which really shows the strength of Pro Carton. Well done to the team behind this video, it is extraordinary!”
Public Choice Triumph
Receiving over a third of the votes, the Pro Carton Student Video Award 2023 Public Award winner was Diana Morgacheva from Italy’s Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi with her video ‘Metamorphosis: A Carton Story’.
The short film shows the journey of a yoghurt holder becoming tea packaging, showing the recyclability of cartonboard, by mirroring the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. The video further highlights the versatility of the sustainable material, as many different examples of cartonboard packaging are shown throughout the story. One member of the public described the video as “an amazing video, beautifully made with a thoughtful story”, another commented “the concept is both interesting and creative, and effectively demonstrates the sustainability of cartonboard”.
Distinguished Recognition
The Pro Carton Student Video Award 2023 Highly Commended entry was ‘The Circle of Life’, created by students Ulrike Rösch, Lea Schneiderbanger, Nele Wolff, Felicia Spiegler and Alina Biesolt from SRH Berlin School of Design and Communication in Germany.
The video depicts the multiple ways cartonboard is used throughout various life stages. The story showed the main character grow from infanthood to old age, with cartonboard continuously playing a vital role to shape their human identity, due to its durability and recyclability.
Winfried Muehling, Head of Marketing & Communications at Pro Carton, commented:
“Every year the Pro Carton Student Video Award entrants showcase the upcoming talent and thoughtfulness of the next generation. During the judging day in Copenhagen the team had a very tough decision in choosing the 2023 winner. Pro Carton thanks and recognises all entrants to this year’s competition for delivering such high-quality short films.
“The Awards Gala held in Seville was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the students and teachers behind the top-ranking videos. These students have a bright future in their filmmaking careers, and it was great to see them promote cartonboard in a coordinated and meaningful way.”
The full shortlist:
| Video Name | Entrant/s | School/University |
|---|---|---|
| The PROs of Carton | Jasmin Hein, Sofia Rohnefeld | Höhere Graphische Bundes- Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, Austria |
| Metamorphosis: A Carton Story | Diana Morgacheva | Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Italy |
| The Circle of Life | Ulrike Rösch, Lea Schneiderbanger, Nele Wolff, Felicia Spiegler, Alina Biesolt | SRH Berlin School of Design and Communication, Germany |
| Cartonella- Carton Brings People Together | Melissa Nedeljkov | Hoehere Graphische Bundes-, Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, Austria |
| Lancelot, the Knight of the Carton | Jules Dubernet, David Botermans, Orpheas Tatakis & Lea Cabrera | Université Lumière Lyon 2, France |
| Ovo Nije Moj Dom | Uros Stepic | Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Serbia |
| The Pro Carton Hero | Joe Lynch | University of Surrey, UK |
| We Choose Carton | Dorotėja Aidukaitė, Emilija Žiūkaitė, Enya Tarky, Marsh Seintje & Darcy Oostburg | Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands |
